Were The Nazis Indeed Followers Of Ancient Mystical Religions?

The association of Nazism with occultism has been a topic of debate since the early 1940s, with many leading figures in supernatural movements in Weimar Germany later becoming prominent Nazis. The Nazis were uncertain about how to proceed towards supernatural belief and practices due to their invocations of ‘enlightenment’. Despite the intermittent suppression and outlawing of popular occultism and superstition, the Nazis drew upon a wide variety of occult practices and believed that folk superstitions were a healthy part of popular consciousness, linked not to formal religion but to faith in the power of magic and the Volk.

After 1945, a consensus held that occultism, an ostensibly anti-modern blend of pseudo-religious and scientific practices and ideas, had directly facilitated Nazism’s persecution of many Communists, Jews, Gypsies, and “asocials”. The Nazis usurped symbols such as the flag of the Reich, possibly because of its links with esoteric religion and occultic practices that had made their way into Europe.

The Nazi crusade was essentially religious in its adoption of various religions, including Buddhism and Eastern religion. Hitler argued that the lack of compromise in Catholic dogma could be used as a model for Nazi Party “dogmas”, implying the establishment of a “destruction” state.

The ideology of the Nazis drew on theories of racial superiority, but supernatural thinking reinforced the Nazis’ racist and imperialist views. The Nazi Party’s success is attributed to its status as a quasi-religious cult, emphasizing redemption, sacrifice, and communal spirit. Hitler and his followers performed dark secret rituals during WWII in the hopes of taking over the world.

How many Christians were killed in WWII?

The Holocaust resulted in the deaths of approximately 5 million non-Jews. However, the exact number of Christians killed remains a complex issue, as there is no definitive figure.

What religion was banned in Germany?

In Germany, religious minorities like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Baháʼí Faith were banned, along with the eradication of Judaism and the genocide of its adherents. The Salvation Army disappeared, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church was briefly banned but later reinstated. Other religious minority groups had a more complicated relationship with the new state, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), which withdrew its missionaries from Germany and Czechoslovakia in 1938.

The Nazi Party was frequently at odds with the Pope, who denounced the party for claiming an anti-Catholic veneer. There were differing views among the Nazi leaders regarding the future of religion in Germany. Anti-Church radicals included Hitler’s personal secretary Martin Bormann, the propagandist Alfred Rosenberg, and Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Some Nazis advocated “Positive Christianity”, a uniquely Nazi form of Christianity that rejected Christianity’s Jewish origins and the Old Testament.

Nazism aimed to transform the subjective consciousness of the German people into a single-minded, obedient “national community”. Under the Gleichschaltung (Nazification) process, Hitler attempted to create a unified Protestant Reich Church from Germany’s 28 existing Protestant churches. However, the plan failed and was resisted by the Confessing Church. Following the Nazi takeover, Hitler moved quickly to eliminate political Catholicism.

The Reich concordat treaty with the Vatican was signed in 1933, promising to respect Church autonomy. Hitler routinely disregarded the Concordat, closing all Catholic institutions whose functions were not strictly religious.

What religion did the Nazis believe in?

In 1932, Hitler declared himself a German Christian, a Protestant group that supported Nazi ideology. He and the Nazi Party promoted nondenominational positive Christianity, rejecting traditional Christian doctrines and Jewish elements. Hitler often spoke of Protestantism and Lutheranism, stating that the Evangelical Protestant Church could become the established church like in England.

Hitler’s regime attempted to coordinate German Protestants into a joint Protestant Reich Church but was resisted by the Confessing Church. He moved early to eliminate political Catholicism. Although Nazi leadership was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, Hitler agreed to the Reich concordat with the Vatican but routinely ignored it and permitted persecutions of the Catholic Church. Historians argue that Hitler and his inner circle were influenced by other religions, such as Odin or Wotan.

Most historians argue that Hitler was prepared to delay conflicts for political reasons and that his intentions were to eventually eliminate Christianity in Germany or reform it to suit a Nazi outlook.

Alan Bullock wrote that Hitler had been raised Catholic but repudiated Christianity on rational and moral grounds. He believed neither in God nor conscience but found both “justification and absolution” in a view of himself echoing Hegel’s view that heroes were above conventional morality. After his early military successes, Hitler abandoned himself entirely to megalomania and the “sin of hubris”, believing himself to be more than a man. Once the war was over, Hitler wanted to root out and destroy the influence of the churches, though until then he would be circumspect for political reasons.

What religion did the German Empire follow?

The present-day Germany was a predominantly Roman Catholic country, with religious break-offs suppressed by the Papacy and the Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Protestant Reformation in the Holy Roman Empire changed this drastically. Discontent with abuses and the idea of a papacy led to a desire for reform. Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, published in 1517, revealed corruption and misguidance within the Catholic Church. Luther’s disagreement with the higher clergy’s power abuse and the idea of a papacy was evident.

The Diet of Worms outlawed Luther in 1521, but the Reformation spread rapidly. Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German, establishing the basis of the modern German language. His dialect evolved into what is now standard modern German after the publication of his Bible translation.

What religion was Russia during ww2?

Orthodox Christianity was the state religion of the Russian Empire, encompassing not only the tsar and his family but also smaller ethnic groups, including Ukrainians, Belarusians, Georgians, Moldovans, and the “Great” Russians.

How many Christians died in WWII?

The Holocaust resulted in the deaths of approximately 5 million non-Jews. However, the exact number of Christians killed remains a complex issue, as there is no definitive figure.

What was the original religion of Germany?

The Germanic paganism was a nature-based faith, with the festivals dedicated to nature deities such as Ostara, the goddess of spring. Additionally, the early Germanic tribes are known to have possessed a corpus of songs pertaining to an Earth god named Tuisto, who is identified as the grandfather of the Germanic people.

What religion did ancient Germans practice?

The term “Germanic paganism” is used to describe a diverse range of Teutonic religions that originated among the Germanic people of Northern Europe from the Iron Age until their conversion to Christianity. These religions were practised by numerous nomadic tribes.

What religion were Germans in Russia?

The 2010 national census reported 394, 138 Russian or Volga Germans in the Russian Federation, primarily Lutheran and Mennonite. Their numbers have significantly decreased since 1989 due to naturalization opportunities in Germany. German settlement in Russia began in the 16th century, following Catherine the Great’s decree of 1763 granting steppe land along the Volga River to Germans. The Soviet regime created the Volga German ASSR in 1924, with German as its official language.

The republic was disbanded during the war, and its German population (895, 637) was deported to Siberia and Central Asia. Despite rehabilitation in 1965, the Germans were not allowed to resettle in the region. German organizations like Revival, Freedom, and the Interstate Organization of Russian Germans have campaigned for the restoration of their homeland, but face strong opposition from local populations. The German Government has allocated funds for cultural centers and schools in Central Asia and Russia, but hundreds of thousands of Germans continue to emigrate to Germany.

What religions were involved in ww2?

During World War I, religious groups like Christians, Jews, and Buddhists joined the military in unprecedented numbers, fighting the enemy and sponsoring 10, 000 military chaplains. However, during World War II, religious groups resisted American entry into the war, leading to a debate about intervention. Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr encouraged intervention, but most mainline Christian groups opposed it. Fundamentalists questioned whether this would lead to the end of history.

During World War II, religious groups rallied to support the Allied cause, sending their children into the military, accepting shortages, working in industries that fueled the war machine, and praying for safety and victory. Americans were confident that the Allied cause was right and that the enemy was wrong, and God would vindicate them.

However, religious groups responded to the war with surprising reservation and ambivalence. They held fast to the ideals of peace, justice, and humanitarianism during World War II, even if it meant criticizing the American government. They ministered to the spiritual needs of the nation and supported the war effort, while maintaining their commitment to religious principles that transcended the war effort. They exhibited a cautious patriotism, demonstrating a balance between their zealous and cautious support for the Allied cause.

Was Wolfenstein banned in Germany?

The distribution of “Wolfenstein 3D” was considered a criminal offense by courts due to its depiction of swastikas, leading to debates about the legality of killing Nazis. In the 1990s, the German Youth Protection Laws became the global standard, with a revision of the Youth Protection Law establishing the self-regulating age-rating body Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) in 1994. A USK rating became mandatory for games to be freely distributed in retail, ensuring that games could not be banned by the Bundesprüfstelle.

However, the USK was not allowed to rate games that could potentially be banned by the Bundesprüfstelle. This balance of power still exists today, ensuring a large number of games were rated by the USK, leading to case law that defined ratings criteria and made ratings less random than early decisions by the Bundesprüfstelle.